Sarah Matthews, President-elect Trump’s former spokeswoman, said his recent cabinet nominations stemmed from his “drunk on power.”
Appearing on MSNBC Friday afternoon, Matthews said he found the story of Trump playing “4D chess” with a distracting candidate “funny.”
“That doesn’t happen. “I know he’s drunk on power now because he feels empowered by winning the popular vote,” she said. “He controls both houses of Congress and doesn’t have to worry about running for re-election.”
Matthews also said Trump doesn’t want to “please the establishment” and that his choice to nominate now-former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) does just that.
“He wants someone who will be loyal and do his bidding at the Department of Justice,” she said. “He doesn’t want an independent DOJ.”
Other controversial Cabinet appointments include Fox News host and Army veteran Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr as Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S., said the nominees face a difficult path to confirmation in the Senate, warning that “none of this is going to be easy.”
Prior to the election, Matthews criticized Trump and supported Vice President Harris’ White House bid, joining former Trump White House officials Alyssa Farrar Griffin and Cassidy Hutchinson in their efforts.
The Hill has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.
